How to Disable Steam Auto Updates & Prevent Mods Breaking!

[@Apoqsi]

If you would like to support these kinds of tutorials, consider leaving a *super thanks.* ❤ *Become a Member:* kzbin.infojoin

[@jasonhammond4301]

Thanks for this info, but I have another avenue of questions about the process. As I already have auto-update turned off for a few games, I have noticed that even though they don't update, my game library in the steam app still won't let me play the games until I update them. Will this read-only thing prevent steam from insisting I update? Secondly, will it work for games where steam has already identified an available update?

[@virginiafenderhead2449]

Does this work on Steam Deck?

[@bleeburn9416]

This video couldn't be more relevant with the big Fallout update coming. My characters that rely on 200+ mods thank you kindly lol.

[@smokinggnu6584]

Busy reinstalling FO4 right now, once everything is back to normal with all the mods i had on there, i'ma flip this switch.

[@TheBrosCreed]

That's exactly why I'm here!

[@mrtiff99]

Me too !​@@TheBrosCreed

[@patrioticbat]

This is why I'm here haha

[@smokinggnu6584]

Allllrighty then, can confirm this worked. The big DL is queued but stuck because of a big red error and i launch the game via the f4se launcher, all still work perfectly.

[@djp1234]

Can't believe Steam doesn't have a simple ON / OFF switch for updates.

[@wowandrss]

Because it's quite an odd thing to want. Modding has never been this big before that players would rather play an old version of the game instead of playing without mods. Though still, out of the majority of players, I fear there's not enough to warrant building a new feature.

[@djp1234]

@@wowandrss if my game is working perfectly, I’d rather not update it. A lot of times updates add new bugs or glitches.

[@Filippe-yi5wq]

can't belive bethesda is still updating skyrim

[@djp1234]

@@Filippe-yi5wq I just tried Skyrim for the first time a few weeks ago in VR. Looks like it has a cool story, but I hate all the RPG grind they put in it. I don’t have time to collect and manage thousands of items in my inventory. I just want the story.

[@Filippe-yi5wq]

@@djp1234 I can understand that but for me it still does not make a sense to upgrade an over 10 yo game which storywise is done since 2012 and modding at this point is doing all the job for bethesda

[@gluehuffer2755]

thanks lad. the fallout 4 update news had me in a panic haha.

[@RossParkansky-tt1zv]

me too

[@Yshka2]

Same

[@pburnsiv]

totally same here

[@dendon3384]

Same here brother. Same here.

[@hallsrelief2791]

Same. 1 day before update and I just found this. Tried looking it up once before and it showed me the time thing. So you'd set the time to update to the same time so games would never update... only worked half of the time.

[@Nero-Impact]

thank you so much with the new big update coming soon from fallout 4 a lot of mods will likely break so its really good to find an easy guide

[@veriadejitarukage6823]

THANK YOU! They are pushing another update come the 25th for FO4 and I got a nice FNAF mod on there now along with others that help me have fun after a crap day of work, I don't need an update I do not want messing that up. INSTANT sub, like and bell!

[@Hezon1]

Yup that’s exactly why I’m here, I’m not gonna risk losing all of my mods for this update.

[@freg6568]

i know what kind of man you are

[@CallumOneil999]

Thank you for actually having a truthful tutorial first one that came up were the basics of just changing the date of the update but I want to make sure Fallout 4 doesn't get messed up mods wise when the 'Next Gen' update comes out

[@HanniSeidenba0525]

This is crucial. Bethesda are going to update the game in April 25. Save your mods, gentlemen. DISABLE STEAM AUTO UPDATE!!!

[@degustace_youtube]

yeah

[@olec7125]

Yupp, that's why i'm here

[@inquerion8867]

Well made, high quality video. No bulls*it, just direct information regarding the problem. It seems that your other videos are also similar. Thanks. Enjoy a like and sub.

[@mountaindawg9867]

Was hoping you would do a video like this after the one for Skyrim. Will be blocking updates for Witcher immediately. You’re a gentleman and a scholar.

[@Apoqsi]

Haha, happy you found it helpful! 😊

[@dannyp7629]

Why for Witcher, if you don’t mind me asking?

[@Apoqsi]

@dannyp7629 The Witcher 3 will be getting new updates in 2024, as it’s getting full mod tools: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGnWn5SJYt52b5Ysi=uNCpBIUhtaIyqjo4

[@MrJunkmuck]

Thanks for this quick and simple trick. I've been playing FO4 in offline mode and selected "only update game when I launch". This tip will make me feel even better about my modded game, thanks

[@noahbuster4333]

Thank you so much for this! F4 will for sure break with the new graphics update. Subbed and thanks!

[@annaztien]

You absolute legend! You just saved my bacon. Patch 7 for Baldur's Gate 3 just dropped and your solution stopped it from updating when I played it today. Now I won't beak my game with my mods until their creators update them. You're the best! Thank you ❤

[@GhostOfSnuffles]

I did this about a week ago hoping i could at the very least finish my current playthrough. Launching the game through the script extender and running 40+ mods give or take and so far it's all working. Thanks for the video.

[@KodeKhot]

really thanks, you don't know how much I appreciate this, you don't know how many hours I lost when skyrim was updated again a year ago, I was just recovering when I bought the AE for idiot.

[@CuChulainn343]

I'm still trying to make sure I reverted my game back properly so I can reinstall the mods I want. I spent so long cultivating my list and building that save that when it broke my game I completely lost my shit and undownloaded skyrim only to realize after I fragged everything I might have been able to save it but it was too late. I swear to god if I saw tod in real life I'd piss on him literally

[@baboonman846]

​@@CuChulainn343same boat 👎 Had a 120 playthrough that got completely F'd. Still havent fixed my game

[@davisharper6704]

Thanks for the info. When I install Skyrim on a new PC I'll be getting, it'll do exactly this.

[@chriscampbell9172]

Awesome! This should protect my Nolvus modlist for Skyrim AE!

[@12fishcake]

THANK YOU 😁 After the last time they rolled out a surprise Skyrim patch and broke all the mods, It took me a several weeks of fiddling to get my current modpack to even work. In fairness, this is largely because I wanted to tweak a lot of stuff myself and it's a HUGE pack.... like nearly 400GB But now it's working and.... mostly stable 😅 I really do not want to touch anything and definitely do not need Bethesda to change anything after their last disaster. I've had steam offline ever since the last patch because there's no way to stop it from updating the darn thing lol. Thank you, now I don't have to choose between loosing weeks worth of work and never downloading one of my games on steam again 😂

[@heavy_hate5346]

man, this is the most useful guide on whole YT about game updates on steam! thanks a lot

[@MIXZOPLEX]

Totally. I combed youtube for answers and this one guy was the only one with a real solution.

[@pinkeye6803]

Thank you, easy to follow and understand. (trust me, thats an art skill many dont have) Wish more people would know about this with the upcoming fallout 4 update on the 25th.

[@TitoSilvey]

Absolute godsend, thank you! I literally had just started a FO4 run before the news broke about the update and I did not wanna deal with that shit

[@hannelorevolkmannsheil5022]

You are a hero. I took 30+ hours to got my Rimworld working with 630 mods. I was happy for my life and then came update 1.5 and all the work was gone... But not with your tutorial. Thank you!

[@NPCSlayer666]

Imagine making such a great video and not milking it, keeping it straight to the point in just 2 minutes. how can you be such a good person? thank you

[@Apoqsi]

I understand what it’s like to click on a tutorial and have someone waste your time. I’m aware that people don’t click on a tutorial to get to know me, subscribe, etc. They just want help - which is why I make them. If they perform poorly and don’t make much, I don’t care. As long as it helped someone. Same reason why I don’t put sponsors on them. Anyways, thank you for the kind words!

[@NPCSlayer666]

@@Apoqsi yore the best! have a good day man!

[@Apoqsi]

Have a great day yourself! 😊

[@therealgeorgiadacosta9320]

Thank you so so much for this video!! PLEASE DON'T EVER TAKE IT DOWN!!

[@NerdPirateRadio]

Nope, fallout 4 forces the updates. I had this all set and the 25th came around and shit just wont launch now. steam did throw up an error referencing the file on the first attempt to load but after that it just crashed back to the update button.

[@faustinoalcaraz2095]

How did you fix this? I am having the same issue

[@dr4gonstear]

It's wild that this has taken me 10 years to find. Been on Steam, 11 years, and modding for at least 10. I'd just gotten used to purging my mods and saves after a few updates, especially if I haven't been playing the game for a while. Now I'll be actually able to finish A StoryWealth maybe. Lol.

[@Hellvellyn]

Great help. The fact that fallout London is coming out 2 days before the big next-gen update is mental. 4 years of work being messed up by Bethesda. Insane that they won't share the new version with the guys at F4SE too.

[@abr._.visuals]

Extremely straightforward, thank you!!

[@rainyeevee4047]

Thats much easier than most guides out there. Thank you so much.

[@rainyeevee4047]

Actually it does not work. SIt will block update, but steam will detect update and won't let you turn on the game.

[@Apoqsi]

Yes, it will detect the update but won’t be able to push the files that brick the game. You should be able to launch via the executable or a 3rd party launcher (such as a mod manager) without issue.

[@tritarch6687]

Finally the ultimate "Eff you" to Paradox constantly breaking my game saves on Stellaris.

[@rigs9801]

with paradox at least you should just be able to roll back to an older version of the game by using the betas option on steam

[@EQOAnostalgia]

I always forget how to do this lol. Thanks again!

[@laufendlich]

Did that to my skyrim in steam about 1 year ago to safe my veeeery long modding time from shambles It really is the best way to protect a heavily modded steam game

[@bohdaicitta]

your vids are super helpful, thanks for the VIP Pro Tip treatment. makes everything more awesome.

[@Middlefinger-r7b]

Thanks for all the help. I'm new to this and you make it so easy to learn. Saved me from going crazy 😂

[@degustace_youtube]

now I am ready for the next gen update lol

[@reed6748]

I hope the appmanifest method works, for some reason in the last few days, Steam keeps REVERTING the Automatic Updates setting back to 'always keep the game updated' which is hugely frustrating. It's only doing this with Fallout 4, and I have no idea why the settings aren't saving.

[@Apoqsi]

Anytime Steam is updated, it resets the settings. This has unfortunately been an issue for years with no fix.

[@grilldj]

I use Vortex to mod and launch SKSE64 without Steam running (afraid of auto updates). However, this weekend I noticed that this method somehow now starts Steam upon launch. WTF??? I have no idea why that happens, but I’ll be using this method from now on to block updates. Thank you.

[@Apoqsi]

Yeah. You always need to ensure Steam is opened prior to launching externally, otherwise it will force Steam to launch itself (as it’s required to be open before SKSE64 can launch due to Steam’s DRM). When it is forced to launch like this, it can trigger a launch via Steam instead of SKSE64.

[@DMR_MAK]

The problem I have is despite having Steam settings for FO4 set to “only update on Launch” and only using F4SE via MO2 to launch FO4, as soon as I close the game, Steam starts attempting to update. I try to be diligent and immediately pause the download, but my fear is one day I will forget to do this. I’ll try the manifest technique as described here.

[@BrindleChase]

Thank you! While Bethesda hasn't released the forthcoming update to Fallout 4 yet, I know it will break all my modded gameplays, so I needed to figure out how to stop the update. I will return to verify it was successful when Bethesda releases the update.

[@jukebox1899]

Thanks dude great video

[@DDosAndDonts]

it's very ironic considering they have the workshop for mods, yet they force updates which break mods.

[@jjpugplayer9312]

amazing simple to follow and good voice and mic and very short AMAZING VID

[@Skabula01]

Thank you. Was worried after the recent announcement from Bethesda and their upcoming update for Fallout 4

[@TechFinn12]

Thank you so much you saved my mods !! It actually works

[@Sagekun]

Thank you. Saved me a lot of headache this.

[@DarkestRacer96]

great video direct and well spoken thank you.

[@phosphorescence]

I wish I knew this just hours ago, f4se won't run now that it's updated. Now I gotta search for a way to roll back the game. I got read only checked off now, thanks Apoqsi

[@Apoqsi]

I’ll be making a downgrade tutorial.

[@sipuli3457]

hmm, i quess this doesn't work if steam has the update listed in the update list? tried applying this but still it keeps asking for me to update :S

[@Apoqsi]

Unfortunately, no. Steam immediately grabs & updates certain files that prevent you from launching the game the moment Steam is aware of an update. So there is no way to do this retroactively, even if the update itself technically hasn’t started installing.

[@sipuli3457]

@@Apoqsi found that if i use the script extender to launch then it doesnt update the game, or maybe it worked because i used the vortex to launch it. Not sure which it was but anyways managed to get the game running.

[@wraith8323]

Ive found the same for launching CP2077 through Vortex

[@TheGuWie]

Damn. That was really helpful!

[@kellyandthorulf]

Just in time for the 'free update' next week

[@armitagejake]

Apoxi, thx for allways give direct, effective information

[@wraith8323]

THANK YOU SIR, not just for mod stability but quite a few times the fundamental nature of a game is changed due to some direction the studio chooses to go in when I just want to maintain the experience I already have. Sure some people are all in for updates and GaaS, but im not. Whats quality of life for one player is game breaking for another, SKyrim, CP2077 and others will be sealed in a time capsule indefinitely as far as Im concerned. Previous versions of many games -bugs and all- are preferred by some of us. Steam should give we the players an OPTION to upgrade or not, we paid for the game so it should be our decision not some compulsory nonsense

[@Katsura_ja_nai_Zura_da]

Ok so I have done this but still steam is trying to update the game, I have to cancel download manually!

[@jguse2378]

Thank you so much Don't have many Steam games But they are all heavily modded and now all blocked

[@Apoqsi]

Hope you continue to enjoy your modded playthroughs! 😊

[@djanirasim5842]

Thanks, bro. Short and simple.

[@david3552]

This has been super helpful, thanks!

[@Necr0biosis-x]

Quick easy and to the point 10/10 Thank you!

[@mogye1448]

YAY! it still works! thanks for the video!!!

[@BoogiebopPhantom]

Nice and clear. Thank you.

[@unitybeing777]

Thank u and Merry Christmas.

[@Apoqsi]

Merry Christmas! 😊

[@seanmy3884]

Great video after the most recent Skyrim update ruining my load order to push horrible creation content because starfield was terrible this really came in handy

[@M0ONCommander]

damn. Wished I'd reinstalled the game a few days earlier. had the itch to hop back into sim settlements just to find the update broke Script Extender and a large majority of mods. This still helps immensely tho. Doing god's work when steam has no disable auto updates toggle for some reason

[@baboonman846]

Wish i found this video before their last stupid Skyrim 'update' I had about 80 mods and a 120 hour playthrough that got nuked because i didnt do this. Turning off auto updates on steam alone WILL NOT SAVE YOUR GAME Thanks alot for letting me keep my fallout4 files, Im going to spam this fix in other videos and send people here so they can also save their games. Really appreciate this 👍

[@Apoqsi]

I am happy the video helped and thank you very much for the super! 😊❤️

[@goodjobjoeytv]

Hey, just commenting again to ask. You mentioned this method works on any game. Does that mean I can apply the same method to Fallout 3? An update came out for it on June 4 that I have not installed yet. I appreciate your help.

[@RadoGamers]

Note if you run verify files, the app manifest will recreate itself in order to run the process. I tried this with Skyrim and later found multiple manifests. Not sure if it'll do it to circumnavigate the read only. Best to play offline even though this works.

[@Apoqsi]

Verifying game files is Steam verifying that your game files match the latest version of the game on the Steam servers, and if not, it will re-acquire said files. I can't recall if it circumvents the read-only flag (it shouldn't), but I wouldn't recommend doing it either way. If you need to "verify" your files, re-download the depots for your version and overwrite the game with them again.

[@HauntedCorpseGaming]

Feels like Bethesda updated the PC version of Fallout 4 for no real reason other than to sabotage Fallout London and get them a news story or two while the Fallout TV series is relevant..... Ah well.

[@Apoqsi]

The update was expected in April long before the FOLON Team chose to release in April. I called out Fallout London’s poor choice months ago. Fantastic team, but they did this to themselves. As for the update though? Yeah, it’s worse than useless.

[@LorenTR]

Does not work for Monster Hunter World. It specifically says that file needs to be rewritable.

[@rickyrizk]

came looking just for this after i saw the "Next Gen update" for fallout 4 nooo thank u i ill keep my modlist over some CC mods

[@RoughWalkers]

Since i mod on fc25 will this stop the game updating im bored of having to update mods and starting new CM again and again after every update

[@phantradd3093]

awesome! thank you so much. literally life saver

[@Nargon46]

Thanks so much! I do NOT need Bethesda coming in out of the blue and wreaking my hard-fought mods!

[@RECXFX]

Thank you! Going to try this out

[@BGShepard]

You are doing the Lord's work, my friend.

[@JamesWilson9777]

This video is amazing. THANK YOU BRO.

[@hectoralvarez-kn3mn]

Works like a charm thanks man!

[@Calafan87]

So we don't need to make a backup of the game folder with the exe in it? This should suffice? Currently trying to make sure my Fallout 4 game doesn't break since I have a mod list installed on it (Welcome to Paradise).

[@toidIllorTAmI]

Mod makers once again fixing multimillion dollar mistakes. Thanks for the vid!

[@KindofStraange]

cool, now tell me how to launch the game. "Disk Write Error". smooth criminal

[@94reviewman8]

It won't let me start the game. Keeps saying update failed.

[@DarkWingDuck-zj7kw]

Okay I need help I have the game rust and I have tried every thing under the sun to stop workshop updates nothing works I even did this for the game and it just starts updating workshop as soon as I start the game I have auto updates off limited my bandwidth no updates while game play on I just don't know what to do HELP

[@KyleCross-ym6by]

Good-looking out bro, really saved my bacon for fo4.... would of broke my 500+ hour bunker I've been building with mods

[@notsoeasymode6778]

Thanks for the tutorial, it helped.

[@JayOverHeaven]

Followed your instructions but Steam still tried starting the update randomly today. I was able to stop it but I am afraid the method is working for me.

[@johnlavette9471]

I am grateful to you, sir! I am also sorta confused as to why CDProjectRed and Taleworlds etc. never put this operation at the top of their troubleshooting pages. Think of all of the bzillions of outraged complaints from pissed off players whose lovingly modded games were repeatedly nuked by updates lol! I have always felt that the devs should have enough respect for their player base to develop mod-friendly update mechanisms. But you have revealed to me that all the devs had to do was tell us to set a single freakin 'read-only' flag and they could have made life easier for themselves and the players! I mean, WTF! When I think about all the times in the last couple of years that I spent ridiculous periods of time getting CP 2077 modded all to sh@t so it was just perfect, only to have to burn it all down and start over cuz of an update... grrrrr! If I wasn't a hopeless nerd I might actually consider dropping these games and getting some sort of life! ;)

[@Apoqsi]

Haha, I’m happy it helped! But to be fair to the devs, blocking updates (and downgrading) has some issues that some users might not be familiar with. So promoting such capabilities officially could cause a lot of issues for both the support staff at the studio and mod authors when it comes to false bug reports.

[@toidIllorTAmI]

It's probably against steams guidelines.

[@eightLives_forever]

Thank you!! You are the man!

[@Tsuyoku_]

Day of the FO4 Next Gen update. Was thinking if I just have to wait til (hopefully) all the Mods will be updated. (If their respective authors are still working on them). Now I can safely continue... wait, what's that? Another Settlement needs my help? Fine...

[@sinistersaint]

What a life saver, THANK YOU (just let me play my heavily modded FO4 in peace!!!)

[@Krazyman1999]

The should have just made a Fallout 4 SE version, like they did with Skyrim SE. Fallout 4 Fallout 4 SE Then you can play your Fallout 4 without broken mods, that may never get fixed, if the modder has left the modding scene.

[@GabrielAmorim-bw5dh]

Thanks, man. That did it for me.

[@Raikyweh]

If this works, you are an Absolute legend!

[@dave6564]

I set it to read only but theres a skyrim update coming. the update is in queue anyway, not sure if itll update or not. Worried lol

[@tal9139]

for me going into offline mode worked. not sure if there's a way in online mode

[@Apoqsi]

The update will still show on Steam, it just won’t initiate the update (because it can’t due to the read-only flag). Just continue launching via your mod manager/SKSE option as usual and you’ll be fine.

[@Neo_Psy]

Thanks for the clear instructions.

[@Apoqsi]

Glad it was helpful!

[@DRW_GAMES1]

So thankful I found this video!! Tks ❤❤❤❤❤

[@TrouvatkiDePercusion]

For linux users: sudo chmod 755

[@GlantriMage]

Thank you 🍺

[@yungbackshots]

THATS WHY YOU'RE THE GOAT!!!! THE GOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@False_Death]

You are my hero sir! Thank you!

[@Alhoshka]

Why in the world Steam will not give us the option to manage updates ourselves is beyond me. Aren't my PC and my game MY properties? I also get frustrated when I see that in the Steam forums, most gamers insist on blaming Bethesda instead of Steam, even when one explains to them that Steam is the one forcing the update on you.

[@kilamah8099]

So on the 25th when the next gen update goes live, how will my steam act like when I ve set the file to read only? Will it download the update and give me an error, or will it not download it and I can press play like nothing happend?

[@rubysilvereye3611]

I'm confused does this stop the updates no matter what like they wont even be an option?